I think Leah gets a lot of flack for her role within the biblical narrative. Her story is not romantic, so there goes half of the female readership. Then, readers like to blame all of Rachel's problems on Leah, so there's another quarter of female readership gone. Next, readers tend to view Leah as unremarkable...
Well, apparently that is what Jacob thought as well, which is why God chose to honor Leah over Rachel. Rachel's son Joseph may have become a powerful leader in Egypt, but Leah's son Judah is a part of the Line of David, ergo the line of Jesus. It is Judah's sons through Tamar that continue to provide the connection between Abraham and David.
Then, since God saw that Leah was originally unloved by Jacob, he gave her many sons to make up for her husband's lack of emotions. Leah conceived and bore five sons before Rachel had even one, giving Leah a placement within the household that would difficult for Rachel, the beloved wife, to win against. Jacob would never set Leah aside because she had given him many sons in which to build up his household.
However, it must have been difficult for Leah to watch how this affected her sister within the household. Yes, Leah wanted the love of her husband, but she also must have loved her sister as well. Balancing her desires and needs to have a solid placement within her husbands household and the pain/suffering Rachel felt at being barren must have been difficult for Leah. Watching her sister try repeatedly to become pregnant and to only fail each time would be difficult for any sister who felt a semblance of love or caring for her sister.
As the older sister myself, it is difficult to not assume that Leah would not look out for her needs or try to make the best of a situation, but she may have also tried to take care of her little sister. Was she perfect at it, no, but I wish I could hear Leah tell her side of the story from her point of view...
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